Section 2995-A. Physician profiles

1.  The department shall collect the
  following  information  and  create  individual  profiles  on  licensees
  subject  to the authority of the office of professional medical conduct,
  in a format that shall be available for dissemination to the public:
    (a) a statement of any criminal convictions  (as  defined  by  section
  1.20  of  the  criminal procedure law) within the most recent ten years,
  under the laws of New York state or any other jurisdiction, for offenses
  specified by regulations of the department;
    (b) a statement of any action  (other  than  an  action  that  remains
  confidential) taken against the licensee pursuant to section two hundred
  thirty of this chapter or any similar action taken by any other state or
  licensing entity, within the most recent ten years;
    (c)  a  statement  of  any  current  limitation  of  the licensee to a
  specified area, type, scope or condition of practice;
    (d) a statement of any loss or  involuntary  restriction  of  hospital
  privileges  or  a  failure to renew professional privileges at hospitals
  within the last ten years, for reasons related to the quality of patient
  care delivered or to be delivered by the physician where procedural  due
  process has been afforded, exhausted, or waived, or the resignation from
  or removal of medical staff membership or restriction of privileges at a
  hospital  taken  in  lieu  of a pending disciplinary case related to the
  quality of patient care delivered or to be delivered  by  the  physician
  (notwithstanding   paragraph   (a)   of  subdivision  three  of  section
  twenty-eight hundred three-e of this chapter, as added by chapter  eight
  hundred sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty);
    (e) (i) a statement indicating the number of medical malpractice court
  judgments  and  arbitration  awards  within the most recent ten years in
  which a payment is  awarded  to  a  complaining  party  (notwithstanding
  subsection  (f)  of section three hundred fifteen of the insurance law);
  and
    (ii) a statement indicating all  malpractice  settlements  within  the
  most recent ten years in which payment is awarded to a complaining party
  (notwithstanding  subsection (f) of section three hundred fifteen of the
  insurance law),
    (A) if the total number of settlements exceeds two; or
    (B) if the  commissioner  determines  any  such  settlement  could  be
  relevant  to  patient decisionmaking concerning health care quality. The
  statement shall include the following: "Settlement payments will  appear
  in  this profile only if the total number of settlements made within the
  past ten years exceeds two, or if the commissioner of health  determines
  a  settlement  to be relevant to patient decisionmaking. Settlement of a
  claim may occur for a variety  of  reasons,  which  do  not  necessarily
  reflect  negatively  on  the  professional  competence or conduct of the
  physician. A payment in settlement of a medical  malpractice  action  or
  claim   does  not  necessarily  mean  that  a  medical  malpractice  has
  occurred." The commissioner may supplement  such  statement  as  may  be
  appropriate.
    (iii) judgments, awards and settlements shall be reported in graduated
  categories  indicating  the level of significance, date and place of the
  judgment,  award   or   settlement.   Information   concerning   medical
  malpractice judgments, awards and settlements shall be put in context by
  comparing  an  individual  licensee's medical malpractice settlements to
  the experience of other physicians in New York  state  within  the  same
  board  specialty.  Pending  malpractice claims shall not be disclosed to
  the public under this section. Nothing  herein  shall  be  construed  to
  prevent  the  board from investigating or disciplining a licensee on the
  basis of medical malpractice claims that are pending;
    (f) name of medical schools attended and date of graduations;

    (g) graduate medical education;
    (h) current speciality board certification and date of certification;
    (i) dates admitted to practice in New York state;
    (j) names of hospitals where the licensee has practice privileges;
    (k)  appointments  to  medical  school  faculties and indication as to
  whether a  licensee  has  had  a  responsibility  for  graduate  medical
  education within the most recent ten years;
    (l)  information  regarding  publications  in  peer  reviewed  medical
  literature within the most recent ten years;
    (m) information regarding professional or community service activities
  or awards;
    (n) (i) the  location  of  the  licensee's  primary  practice  setting
  identified as such; and
    (ii)  the  names  of  any  licensed  physicians with whom the licensee
  shares a group practice, as defined in subdivision five of  section  two
  hundred thirty-eight of this chapter;
    (o)  the  identification  of  any  translating  services  that  may be
  available at the licensee's primary practice location;
    (p) whether the licensee participates  in  the  medicaid  or  medicare
  program  or  any  other  state  or  federally  financed health insurance
  program; and
    (q)  health  care  plans  with  which  the  licensee  has   contracts,
  employment, or other affiliation.
    2.  Nothing  in this section shall limit the department's authority to
  collect,  require  reporting  of,  publish  or   otherwise   disseminate
  information about licensees.
    3.  Each  physician  who  is  self-insured  for  professional  medical
  malpractice shall periodically report to the department on forms and  in
  the  time  and  manner  required  by  the  commissioner  the information
  specified in paragraph (f) of subdivision one of  this  section,  except
  that  the physician shall report the dollar amount (to the extent of the
  physician's  information  and  belief)  for  each  judgment,  award  and
  settlement and not a level of significance or context.
    4. Each physician shall periodically report to the department on forms
  and  in  the  time  and  manner  required  by the commissioner any other
  information as is required by the  department  for  the  development  of
  profiles   under   this   section  which  is  not  otherwise  reasonably
  obtainable. In addition to such periodic reports and providing the  same
  information,  each physician shall update his or her profile information
  within the six months prior to the expiration date of  such  physician's
  registration  period,  as  a  condition  of  registration  renewal under
  article one hundred thirty-one of the education law.
    5. The department shall provide each licensee with a copy  of  his  or
  her profile prior to dissemination to the public. In the manner and time
  required   by  the  commissioner,  a  licensee  shall  be  provided  the
  opportunity to correct factual inaccuracies that appear in the  profile.
  The  physician shall be permitted to file a concise statement concerning
  information contained  in  the  profile,  which  shall  be  disseminated
  therewith.
    6.  A  physician  may  elect  to  have his or her profile omit certain
  information provided pursuant to paragraphs (l), (m),  (n)  and  (q)  of
  subdivision  one  of  this  section.  In collecting information for such
  profiles  and  disseminating  the  same,  the  department  shall  inform
  physicians that they may choose not to provide such information required
  pursuant  to paragraphs (l), (m), (n) and (q) of subdivision one of this
  section.
    7.  A  physician  who   knowingly   provides   materially   inaccurate
  information   under   this  section  shall  be  guilty  of  professional

  misconduct  pursuant  to  section  sixty-five  hundred  thirty  of   the
  education law.
    8. The department shall establish a toll-free telephone number through
  which  it  shall  answer inquiries about and accept orders for hard copy
  physician profiles established  pursuant  to  this  section  and  accept
  consumer   complaints   about  suspected  professional  misconduct.  The
  department may charge a nominal fee for producing  and  mailing  a  hard
  copy physician profile.
    9.  The department shall, in addition to hard copy physician profiles,
  provide for electronic access  to  and  copying  of  physician  profiles
  developed  pursuant to this section through the system commonly known as
  the Internet.
    10. The commissioner shall require that:
    (a) Practitioner organizations that are representative of  the  target
  group for profiling, and health care consumer organizations, be provided
  the  opportunity  to  review  and  comment on the profiling methodology,
  including collection methods,  analysis,  formatting,  and  methods  and
  means for release and dissemination.
    (b)  Comparisons of practitioner profiles shall be organized according
  to practitioner areas of practice.
    11. The commissioner shall evaluate the utility and practicability  of
  including  in the profile a comparison of malpractice data by geographic
  area. However, the implementation of the profile shall  not  be  delayed
  pending such evaluation.
    12.  The  commissioner  shall develop and distribute a notice suitable
  for posting that informs consumers  of  the  availability  of  physician
  profiles  and the telephone numbers and Internet addresses for accessing
  them.
    13.  Further  study  of  physician   profiles.   After   the   initial
  dissemination of the data identified in subdivision one of this section,
  the  department  shall  conduct a further study of physician profiles as
  follows:
    (a) Data sources. The department shall identify the types of physician
  data to which the public has access, including all information available
  from federal, state  or  local  agencies  which  is  useful  for  making
  determinations   concerning  health  care  quality  determinations.  The
  department shall study all physician  data  reporting  requirements  and
  develop  recommendations  to  consolidate  data collection and eliminate
  duplicate and  unnecessary  reporting  requirements,  or  to  supplement
  existing  reporting requirements in order to satisfy the requirements of
  this section.
    (b) Supplemental information adjustment and security  safeguards.  The
  department  shall  develop  a  methodology  for application to collected
  physician data that accounts for factors such as frequency, severity and
  geographic area which shall be used to provide context to reported data.
  Any  such  methodology  shall  not  diminish  the  information  reported
  pursuant  to  subdivision  one  of  this  section.  In  developing  such
  methodology, the  department  may  consult  with  physicians,  including
  representatives  of  appropriate specialty societies. The department may
  also consult with organizations  representing  consumers,  other  health
  care  providers,  and  health  care  plans.  Any  such methodology shall
  include adequate and appropriate  safeguards  to  ensure  the  security,
  accuracy   and   integrity  of  health  information  created,  received,
  maintained, used or transmitted in connection with the statewide  health
  information  system.  Such  safeguards  shall  be sufficient to meet any
  minimum standards set by state and federal laws and regulations.
    (c) Public review. The department shall  provide  organizations  which
  are  representative  of consumers, physicians, including representatives

  of appropriate specialty societies,  other  health  care  providers  and
  health  care  plans  the  opportunity  to  review  and  comment  on  its
  determinations and recommendations. The department shall  consider  such
  comments,  and  may  amend  its  determinations  and  recommendations to
  reflect them.
    (d)  Report.  The  department  shall   provide   a   report   of   its
  determinations  and recommendations to the governor and legislature, and
  make such report publicly available, within six months of the  effective
  date of this section.
    (e)   Application.   The   department   shall  thereafter  apply  such
  methodology to the data to be disseminated in physician profiles.
    14. The physician data so disseminated shall  be  updated  at  regular
  intervals to be determined by the department.
    15.  All  physician  data  disseminated  shall  include  the following
  statement: "THE DATA COLLECTED BY THE DEPARTMENT IS ACCURATE TO THE BEST
  OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE DEPARTMENT, BASED ON THE INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY
  THE PHYSICIAN WHO IS THE SUBJECT OF THE DATA."
    16. If, after initial dissemination of the physician data required  by
  this section, the department determines that any such data is not useful
  for making quality determinations, the department shall recommend to the
  legislature the necessary statutory changes.